~Chapter 81~
Gwennolyn hid her impatience.
By now, the maid and the guard would have noticed that she was gone.
Time kept passing ever since she slipped away among her friends, pretending she knew nothing.
“Can I ride the carriage with you, Siera?”
“Hm? Why?”
“Just on the way there is fine. Um… actually, I have something important to say. A secret I want to tell only you.”
Siera looked confused, but she let Gwennolyn ride in the carriage anyway.
Because of that, Gwennolyn had to tell Siera a made-up secret.
She talked about the few days she had spent with the Countess of Crenbel, the Dowager Lady, and the Grand Duchess.
That was more than enough payment for the carriage ride.
“Really? The Grand Duchess’s posture is that bad? And her dancing is strange too?”
“It’s not exactly that. Our standards are just high. Not everyone can be as refined as us.”
“I know what you mean! Everyone knows the Grand Duchess has a poor background. So?”
“I need your help, Siera. I only introduced the Countess of Crenbel out of goodwill, but things turned out so badly. I never expected her to run away overnight.”
“That’s true.”
“I want to apologize to Her Highness the Grand Duchess. Please help me arrange a meeting.”
Siera was a woman who believed things easily and spoke carelessly.
She was also one of those who always followed Gwennolyn.
So planning things was easy.
Gwennolyn clenched her hands tightly.
She had two targets today.
Baldwin and Anais.
Who should she aim for first?
While Siera chatted with the ladies near the balcony, she winked at Gwennolyn.
Gwennolyn smiled back.
Her heart pounded.
“Oh, isn’t that the carriage? Yes, it is! Oh my—are they getting down together? Are they coming in together?”
At the noisy voices from the balcony, the gentlemen also leaned forward to look.
Gwennolyn’s body stiffened.
Together?
Baldwin never rode in a carriage with anyone.
Because of his disability, he was careful not to inconvenience others.
That was why he had always been noble and elegant—like a fragile flower blooming on a cliff.
That Baldwin.
Her Baldwin.
“He’s ruined.”
Fire spread through Gwennolyn’s eyes.
That emotion burned her heart and tried to swallow her whole.
It felt like her heart was being torn apart.
‘You must not do this, Baldwin.’
Her ideal image of him was collapsing.
She could not allow that.
That woman would ruin Baldwin.
That was why Anais was unacceptable.
No one understood Baldwin better than her.
No one knew him like she did.
‘Will that woman love you forever?
She will take everything you have.
A life without children—she will never understand it.’
Anais was greedy.
That was why she had pulled out the pillar of the Graham family.
Gwennolyn kept thinking of reasons why she had to be the one.
After waiting a little longer, the hosts finally appeared.
Baldwin, with his usual cold eyes.
Anais, smiling fresh and bright.
Together, they looked like a perfect picture of a married couple.
“Welcome. Thank you all for visiting Constantine. It’s our first time greeting you like this since the wedding.”
Anais spoke like the lady of the house.
It felt like she was pressing Gwennolyn down completely.
Baldwin’s cold gaze swept over the guests and stopped at Gwennolyn.
His purple eyes sank even deeper.
Those magical eyes felt as if they could steal even Gwennolyn’s soul.
She swallowed hard.
Baldwin’s gaze lingered on her longer.
Gwennolyn’s pupils widened.
Joy surged inside her.
‘See? I’m the special one!
Not that woman—it’s me!’
Her parents were wrong.
She was right.
Baldwin definitely wanted her.
While Gwennolyn exchanged glances with Baldwin, Anais fulfilled her duty as hostess.
According to Estus custom, guests must not be harmed, and must not be sent away hungry.
“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? I heard that plenty of fresh beef arrived today.”
“Oh wow, we even get a meal here at Constantine.”
“Right? You can really tell when there’s a lady of the house.”
“Gold co— no, anyway, she works well, has money, and is even considerate. Isn’t that right?”
“Marriage really is the fastest way to rise in status. Money alone can’t do that. Don’t you agree, Your Highness the Grand Duchess?”
Careless remarks crossed the line one after another.
Their eyes sparkled with shallow curiosity.
People who didn’t even realize how rude they were.
Anais narrowed her eyes.
‘I’ve seen them before.’
They were people she had encountered a few times at the wedding reception.
They had looked at her with unpleasant eyes back then too.
And these were Baldwin’s friends?
They ignored her question about eating and only said whatever they wanted.
People usually gathered with those similar to themselves.
‘So these are Baldwin’s friends.’
That surprised her.
She hadn’t known Baldwin for long, but she knew he wouldn’t enjoy associating with people like this.
He wouldn’t welcome uninvited guests either.
‘Unless… I’m being deceived by Baldwin.’
She hoped that wasn’t true.
She hoped the Baldwin she knew was the real one.
“You are planning to eat, right?”
Anais asked, her voice cold.
“Yes, Your Highness the Grand Duchess.”
The one who answered was Gwennolyn.
“I hope this isn’t too rude. Baldwin, I’m sorry. Everyone was curious about your newlywed life. Things just turned out like this.”
Gwennolyn smiled sweetly.
“Why are you apologizing, Gwen? It’s Baldwin’s fault for not even introducing his wife to us.”
“Exactly. That unlucky bastard.”
“He’s always so aloof. You think a Grand Duke wants to mix with people like us?”
“Hey, watch your mouth! Or at least cover it—oh right, the Grand Duchess can hear us now!”
“What? Did I curse?”
“Well… that’s true.”
Anais checked Baldwin’s expression.
It was colder than ever.
Like a man with no emotion left.
A face he had never shown her before.
Even without hearing words, there was an atmosphere you could feel.
Baldwin was especially sensitive to that.
He had worked hard to make up for what he could not hear.
His success proved that.
His eyes, as he looked at them, shone like glass.
‘He doesn’t like them.’
Anais was certain.
They were not his friends.
No one would wound a friend so easily.
They were using the fact that Baldwin couldn’t hear and acting even worse.
Anais smiled coldly.
“Dinner will take some time to prepare, so please wait.”
“That’s fine, Your Highness! But we’ll need some entertainment. Can you sing well?”
Ignoring Baldwin’s condition, insulting his spouse.
“Hey, don’t tease her too much! What if the Grand Duchess cries?”
“All jokes, all jokes.”
“But we came all this way to see Their Highnesses! Maybe we should hold our gatherings here from now on. You can prepare meals too.”
Shameless people.
Anais grabbed Baldwin’s arm.
“Then please enjoy yourselves. Baldwin and I need to step away for a moment. We have an evening appointment.”
“Wheee!”
“Newlyweds only have one thing to do!”
Low, vulgar trash.
That was Anais’s conclusion.
‘Then there’s no need to treat them like people.’
Ignoring the noisy chatter, Anais led Baldwin out to the sunroom.
The head butler was waiting in the hallway.
“Mr. Rosiewood.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“I don’t think Estus customs are that important. They’re not the law.”
“That is correct, Your Highness.”
“Let them starve. One piece of meat—no, even a single grain of wheat—is a waste on them.”
The butler’s eyes widened.
“Say that cooking will take a long time. Serve nothing except water. The refreshments already provided are the greatest kindness I’m willing to show today.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Let’s go, Baldwin.”
At that moment, Baldwin felt like a well-trained puppy obediently following her.
As he moved as she wished, he整理整理 his thoughts.
‘She said… starve them.’
Watching the back of her round head, Baldwin blinked slowly.
They were not his friends.
He had only not stopped them from coming.
In his mind, he weighed the value of their families and fathers—
what use they could be to his business.
Compared to Anais,
they were nothing more than trash that couldn’t even be recycled.
